Mark 12:24
"And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?"
In my lifetime, I have watched many good people spiritually go off the deep end.
You could write a book about people who started out right, but they ended up in the wrong place. I'm not talking about people who were casual or weak Christians, I am talking about people who were leaders in Christianity. It is alarming when you consider that these people appeared to be some of the strongest Christians.
What is it that would cause "great" Christians to go astray? The verse above says, "...Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?" The word "err" means, "to go astray, be deceived or wander out of the way." God is not talking about falling into sin, but He is talking about people who wander or go astray from the truth. He shows us there are two reasons why people err in the ministry.
First, they don't know the Scriptures. Many people fall into doctrinal error because of a lack of knowledge of God's Word. If you don't know what the Scriptures teach, you can easily be deceived by a suave religious teacher. I remember years ago a friend of mine coming to me and telling me I needed to watch a video of a preacher who was teaching a new insight on doctrine. Of course, he didn't feel what this video showed was against the Scriptures, but he thought this so-called man of God was explaining a doctrine that many misunderstood. I told my friend that I didn't care what this video said, I was more interested in what the Scriptures teach. Today, this man is an atheist, and I'm preaching the Word of God. What happened? He didn't know the Scriptures. You must study the Scriptures daily so that you don't stray from what They teach.
Second, people err in the ministry because they don't know God's power. Part of this is due to the fact that they don't know the Scriptures, but the other part comes from the fact that they just don't understand the magnitude of God's power. I find we live in a day when many people are looking for different ways to reach the lost because they say the methods of years gone by don't work. The problem with this mentality is that people don't know the power of God. Some of the greatest revivals in history came when sin was prevalent. We don't need to change methods, we need to get to know the power of God.
The key to this whole verse is the word, "know." This word means to experience. You will never know the Scriptures until you've experienced Them. You will never know the power of God until you've experienced it. Friend, having a head knowledge of the Scriptures and God's power is not enough, you need to experience them by use. Put the Scriptures into use and watch them work. When you know they work, then you won't be quick to go astray. When you've personally experienced God's power working in your life and ministry by serving Him, then you won't be hasty to try something different. The only reason people go astray is because they have never truly experienced the Scriptures or the power of God.
Let me ask you, do you know, or have you experienced the Scriptures or the power of God? Until you get to know these two things, you are a prime candidate to go astray. You may think you will never go astray, but you will unless you've experienced the Scriptures at work or personally known the power of God. I encourage you to stop looking for new methods and ways, and simply get to know the Scriptures and the power of God, for that alone is your only hope of seeing lives changed and influenced through your ministry.